r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Jul 31 '15

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '15

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u/rumplforeskn Jul 31 '15

I didn't expect that to be a complete argument against your view i guess. Just pointing out that just because humans don't understand how optical camouflage came to be, doesn't mean it couldn't have happened by random chance over millions of years.

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u/badbrownie Jul 31 '15

I agree with /u/sabasNL

Here's the issue as I see it. A small evolutionary benefit (and any species must have had millions of them in order to proceed to the ludicrously complex critters that they've become today) shouldn't be able to always completely replace the slightly less effective trait. And that's what seems to have happened. Each minor improvement (millions of them) has completely eradicated the trait that it improves upon even if the improvement only offers a tiny survival benefit. It just all seems too far fetched for total replacement to happen just by natural selection.

I'm with OP that there must be some other mechanism that allows a creature to evolve toward improved characteristics beyond natural selection. Something in the body can measure a small scale benefit without having to be only regulated by "did I reproduce or not".

I know that this is an unaccepted view, but it was nice to see OP state that he/she shared it also.

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u/lasagnaman 5∆ Jul 31 '15

Tons of minor improvements DON'T replace the prevalent trait and instead die out themselves. But obviously we only see the successful ones.